Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › On the Aug 2 scrimmage (Thomas, Wagoner)
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August 2, 2014 at 1:18 am #3078
RamBillParticipantRams set for scrimmage
By Nick Wagonerhttp://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10122/rams-set-for-scrimmage
EARTH CITY, Mo. — The St. Louis Rams will get a change of scenery today when they host their annual FanFest, which features something closer to a real football game than anything they do in a normal practice.
The scrimmage is set for 1:30 p.m. ET at the Edward Jones Dome and is open to the public. The Rams have other activities available for fans in the hours before the practice begins.
Saturday’s practice won’t be played at full speed with starters against starters but it will at least give the many young players on the team a chance to make an impression. It will also be the first time the Rams wear full pads — they’ve worn shoulder pads in two practice this week — in this training camp.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher explained the setup for the scrimmage Friday evening.
“From a football standpoint, it’s another practice,” Fisher said. “We’re going to do some live work. We’re in full pads. We’ll finish with, I don’t want to say rookies, but there will be some other younger players in a live tackling scrimmage. But for the most part, we’re continuing with our installation. We’re doing a lot of drills, the two-minute, one–on-ones, all kinds of different drills out there. Those who haven’t been able to come to the training camp get to see what we do at training camp, we just happen to be moving indoors.”
Although the Rams are just a week into this training camp, a change of setting can be a welcome sight for a team that has spent most of its waking hours around one another for the past seven days. The opportunity to hit with a little authority and practice actual tackling is also welcome, especially for younger players who are trying to make their way.
It’s almost certain the Rams’ top offense and top defense won’t go live with any drills, though “thud” tempo — in which tacklers make contact with their shoulder pads — is usually a common part of that portion of the practice. But with some bumps and bruises piling up in practice this week, the Rams won’t take any chances of suffering further injury.
Which means that the third-string players who are jockeying for roster or practice squad spots will get some chances to play at full speed and make another initial impression before preseason games start.
The scrimmage also provides an opportunity for those young players to go through a normal game day at the Edward Jones Dome.
“It is good for the young guys that haven’t been there; the draft class, and we have players that have not played there before,” Fisher said. “So it’s good to find out where your locker is and how you come in and off the field and where we warm up and do those kinds of things instead of have it be a first time experience for them next weekend.”
August 2, 2014 at 1:18 am #3063RamBillParticipantRams take to the dome as part of FanFest
• By Jim ThomasThe Rams’ work day takes place in the Edward Jones Dome Saturday afternoon — not Rams Park. And for the rookies and some first-year players, it will be a nice little field trip.
For the entire roster, it’s a dress rehearsal for what’s to come — the preseason opener Friday against visiting New Orleans leading on up to the regular season.
“It’s a first-time experience for the first-year players,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “How we warm up. The locker room, and how to come to it from the field. So that in itself is a good experience for the younger players.”
You’d hate to get lost straggling back to the locker room at halftime. (#embarrassing.)
The players will gather at Rams Park Saturday morning and then take a bus downtown to the dome.
Some rookies will be more wide-eyed than others. Take undrafted rookie Jordan Harris, for instance. The wide receiver from Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., has never been in the Edward Jones Dome. He’s never seen the place except in pictures.
“It looks big,” said Harris, whose only foray downtown came in the spring when he attended a Cardinals baseball game.
He’s never been in a football stadium this large even as spectator, because he’s never attended an NFL game in person. So Harris can’t wait for Saturday’s FanFest event, with fan festivities starting as early as 9:30 a.m. but the actual practice itself not starting until 12:30 p.m. Admission is free.
“I’m very excited,” Harris said. “It’s going to be a blessing. It’s gonna be cool to step in there and see everything, and see how big it is.”
At Bryant, in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Div. I-AA), Harris played his home games at Bulldog Stadium (capacity 3,400). The biggest stadium he played in, Harris said, was at Stony Brook. “And that was like only 10,000.”
Welcome to the big leagues.
For fans attending training camp practices in Earth City, Saturday’s dome practice won’t look much different. But there will be more of an emphasis on situational football, with some live tackling at the end.
“We’re gonna go through a lot of different scenarios — two minutes and four minutes, and goal line,” Fisher said. “Seven-on-seven and one-on-one, and then we’ll finish with the live rookie contest for I don’t know, maybe 12, 16 plays.
“It’s a good experience. It kinda kicks you off into the preseason.”
Tackling? Did someone mention tackling?
“You look forward to that all the time,” said another undrafted rookie, defensive tackle Ethan Westbrooks. “Out here (at practice) we’ve just been ‘thudding-up,’ and not being able to take guys to the ground. So you’ll be able to lay that first big hit and just shake all the cobwebs out.”
So even if it’s just a play or two, it’s a chance for young roster hopefuls to catch the eye of their position coach, or maybe even the head coach.
Like Harris, Westbrooks also played at the small-college level at West Texas A&M. He has played a couple of times in mammoth Cowboys Stadium — Jerry Jones’ playpen — as part of the Lone Star Conference Festival.
But he’s looking forward to being inside the Edward Jones Dome for the first time, hoping it becomes a regular occurrence for years to come.
“It’s always nice to see a new stadium, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be amazed at what it looks like,” Westbrooks said.
THE REST OF FANFEST
As part of the team’s third annual FanFest, there are several pre-practice activities planned for season-ticket holders and pre-registered fans. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. for that group. (For the general public, dome doors do not open until noon.)
The Rams’ locker room is open for fans from 9:30-10:30 a.m. There will be interactive games on the field, and from 11 a.m. to noon those season-ticket holders and pre-registered fans can hear Rams executives, including executive vice president Kevin Demoff and general manager Les Snead, talk about the team in the Bud Light Party Zone.
Rams cheerleaders will be signing autographs at various locations from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Former Rams center Andy McCollum, one half of the “Donut Bros.” tandem (with Adam Timmerman), will be signing autographs outside the Rams team store from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
When all is said and done, 1,000 of the early-arriving fans will receive “Defend Our Turf” T-shirts. Fans are also encouraged to bring down school supplies as part of the team’s Push for Pencils Drive. There will be collection bins outside the stadium.
RAMS SCRIMMAGEWhen: 12:30 p.m. today
Where: Edward Jones Dome
Cost: Free
If you go: Team autograph session will follow scrimmage.
August 2, 2014 at 11:39 am #3081
znModeratorAnyone going to this?
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